


Hidden

by 1000PaperCranes



Series: New Discretions [2]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Rescue Bots
Genre: Alien Robot Car Angst, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe of an Alternate Universe, And Because Chase Doesn't Care, Because We All Know As Weird as the Transformers People are They Wouldn't Do This, But Interspecies Orgasms?, Deliberate Voyeurism, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, For Science!, Gen, Heatwave Needs A Hug, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Interspecies Curiosity, Kade Needs a Hug, M/M, Multi, No Beta: We die like mne, Not Interspecies Sex, Other, Tactile Sexual Interfacing, This Got Weird Quick, What the Heck Happened to Kade?, accidental abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 08:30:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18232427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1000PaperCranes/pseuds/1000PaperCranes
Summary: Picking up directly from the end of Unforeseen, then taking a sudden walk in the twilight zone.





	1. In Between

**Author's Note:**

> I think I've got the rating right on this but if I'm wrong PLEASE let me know. I just hate reading something with anticipation and then getting to the end and thinking, well that was tame.

In truth, Kade had forgotten many things lately; days of the week, appointments, forms, directions, addresses, reports, and occasionally his name.  Family dinners?  He’d been avoiding them.  Heatwave never forgot – _craved_ a chance to see Chase– but he’d quickly stopped reminding Kade after the man’s attempts to explain his injuries went from barely believable to completely uncredible.  The fireman had a feeling that it was about the third week of pre-dinner interrogations when his partner figured out that he was the one hurting the redhead.  Now, when Sunday night rolled around, Heatwave would come to Kade and open his mouth, then hang his head, shamefaced and confused.

Kade felt bad.  It wasn’t Heatwave’s fault.  Fault had nothing to do with it.

Maybe he was growing up.  Scary.

Tonight, Kade had no plans to explain.  If Optimus hadn’t already, he’d just let them assume it was a fire.  Or whatever Heatwave said.  He looked over the railing at the water.  The cool spray felt good on his bruises, but really, he was just avoiding being seen by Captain Shaw.  He didn’t need to be fussed over.  The sun had already sunken below the horizon, but the sky still glowed pink and purple.  The oddly colored light hid the bruises on Kade’s hand, and hopefully, on his face.  Kade closed his eyes against the wind, forgetting his troubles as the evening wind numbed his skin.

The ferry lurched against the dock and Kade quickly scrambled up into Heatwave’s cab, narrowly escaping the activation of the disembarkment lights.  There were cameras on the ferry and the dock, the last thing anyone needed was a clear shot of his face on film.  Kade rested his hands on Heatwave’s steering wheel, absently caressing the leather as feeling slowly returned to his fingers.  The firetruck navigated them through the streets of Griffin Rock without a word until the firehouse loomed large.

 

———

 

Heatwave stopped.  “Kade, I don’t think–”

“It’ll be fine,” the firefighter assured.  He leaned forward pressing his mouth to the backs of his hands at the top of the steering wheel.  Eyes solemn, he stayed like that for a long time.  “We’re already late.  Let’s go.”

Reluctantly, Heatwave pulled up the street and into the firehouse.  Warm air washed over him as they descended into the bunker.  The Burns’ had already sat down to dinner, obviously having assumed Kade wasn’t coming.  The bots were gathered around toys from Faxian specifically designed for Cybertronians.  They all turned to stare.  With a deep breath, Kade slipped out of the cab, wobbling slightly on the landing.

“Hey, family.”  He waved awkwardly.  They continued to stare.

After a painfully long moment, Charlie’s eyes slid to Heatwave, who was still hiding his face in vehicle mode.  Under such scrutiny, Heatwave eventually transformed.  He was well aware that his own lack of damage would be suspicious to the humans, and to Chase.  He hung his head, optics catching on Kade, who looked even worse in the frank light of the bunker.

Heatwave himself had left every one of those marks.  None of it was on purpose, but he was still horrified to have damaged the human.  The gentle drift of his partner’s impossibly resilient skin lingered as sense memory on his steering wheel and suddenly it made Heatwave cold.  How could he hurt this person?  How could he allow harm to come to such a kind creature, let alone cause it?  Beneath all the bluster, Kade was a wonderful person who cared more about his partner than Heatwave did about him.

The so-called leader of the Rescue Bots wanted nothing more than to melt into a puddle of slag on the floor as Chief Charlie Burns stiffly approached them.  The elder human ignored Heatwave.  He looked closely at his son’s injuries, then reached out, carefully cupping Kade’s face in a hand so much like the fireman’s own.  Kade leaned into the touch, eyes falling shut and breathing a little easier.

“What happened?” Charlie whispered, voice loud in the utter silence of the bunker.

Kade licked his lips but didn’t answer.

No punishment was enough for Heatwave.  When Chase shifted, Heatwave both welcomed and dreaded the justice that was sure to follow.

“Heatwave?” Chase asked with a gentleness new to the firebot.  “What happened to Kade?”

Heatwave closed his optics, breathed deeply, and admitted, “I did.”

Silence.

It was more terrifying, more damning, than facing a gladiator in the pits.  Then confused protests and questions erupted around the room.  Unwilling to make sense of the din, Heatwave curled as tightly in on himself as he could without the use of his T-cog.  He clenched his optics shut tight, pretending he could simply stay like that until they abandoned him.  It was far better than he deserved, and clearly a pipe dream.

Some bot’s hands tipped Heatwave’s face up.  “Heatwave?” Chase’s voice cut through the commotion.  He didn’t sound angry, though Chase rarely showed overt emotion.  “Heatwave.”  The firebot opened his optics.  Chase was kneeling right in front of him, optics concerned.  He pulled their helms together.  “You need to tell me what happened.”

Heatwave… Heatwave couldn’t, he barely remembered.  He had never _tried_ to hurt Kade, usually didn’t even notice.  Heatwave used to know, used to beg and plead and promise Kade.  And Kade… Kade had become so used to it that he rarely ever cried out in pain, simply absorbing whatever mishandling he got.  “I don’t know,” Heatwave whispered, and it was the sad, sad truth.

“It was an accident,” Kade’s stern voice came from the floor.  He leveled a challenging gaze at Chase.  The police bot obligingly took the challenge.

“That’s not just one mishap, son.”  Charlie’s thick fingers brushed across Kade’s bruised temple with unanticipated delicacy.

Despite the hard set of his face, Kade allowed his father’s fingers to drift methodically through his copper hair.  “Yeah, well, Heatwave’s spatial awareness and dexterity are a little… undermaintained.”

Silence greeted that statement as well.  Though it was much shorter lived.

“Heatwave,” Blades began, and the firebot could tell from his tone that the medic was about to deliver the punishment Chase somehow hadn’t understood was needed.  “That’s _reckless_.”

Heatwave closed his eyes, preparing himself for the fallout he had already accepted was coming.

 

———

 

“Stop it!” Kade ordered.  He looked up at the bots, unmoved by Boulder’s confusion, Blades’ censure, or Chase’s conflict.  He glared at the helicopter.  “Just stop it.”  The bots and the humans all turned curious gazes on the firefighter.  “I didn’t come here for you to interrogate my partner.  I came here to celebrate my father’s birthday.”

“Kade…”  Two large hands cradled Kade’s head.  He let himself sink into his father’s stern, loving gaze, listening intently.  “That is not important right now.  We’re concerned about your safety.”

Kade pitched forward into his father’s embrace.  “I’m safe.  He’s not doing it on purpose.  Really.”  Kade hooked his chin over his father’s shoulder.  He looked at Cody.  “That’s why Optimus sent us here.”

Cody chewed on his lip, eyes taking on an internal cast as he puzzled, then his whole face brightened.  “To help.”  Kade grinned tiredly at his baby brother.  “Heatwave needs help.” 

Kade held his hand out to Cody, grinning a little wider when the teen stepped forward and took it.  “You’re the best, Code.”  He felt his father’s arms squeeze his waist before releasing.  Kade pulled Cody close, dropping a grateful kiss into his hair.

“Are you very hurt?” Cody asked, leaning away from an embrace.

“Not too much for a hug,” Kade promised, tightening his muscles to absorb his baby brother’s customary squeeze.  Instead he got a firm cuddle.  Kade breathed out heavily, relieved to be spared a shock to his damaged ribs.

“While this is all… dandy,” Graham interrupted, no doubt about to remind them of the elephant in the room.  “We still have to decide what to do about Heatwave.”  The engineer looked up at Blades and Boulder, having clearly written of Chase.  Both bots favored him with dubious looks.

“I have an idea,” Chase said, standing.  He pulled Heatwave to his feet and briefly pressed their helms together again. 

Kade smiled indulgently as the blue bot tugged his partner out of the room.  “That should work,” he mumbled.  He rested his chin on Cody’s head, then eyed their cooling dinner.  Kade felt the contentment break, his face falling without his permission. 

There wasn’t a place for him.

Dani and Graham looked at each other, slowly turning guilty.

His father scoffed.  “I don’t care how old you are; you’re sitting on my lap.  No arguments.” 

Everyone laughed and Kade allowed himself to be towed into place.  He looked down at the food for a long time before selecting a whole sweet potato.  The hot tuber soothed his aching hands and left a soft weight in his stomach.  Kade yawned, promising himself that he’d start eating better tomorrow.  He mumbled a goodnight, before shuffling off to find his partner.  They couldn’t leave Optimus alone with the bit bots for too long.


	2. Theraputic Communication

Overload still sparking across his frame, Heatwave leaned against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor.  Chase was only slightly steadier on his feet and allowed Heatwave to pull him down, situating the police bot against his chest plates.  They both breathed deep and hard, slowly coming down from their mutual high.  Primus, Heatwave had forgotten how good it felt.

By unspoken agreement, he and Chase were never intimate on duty.  And they had been effectively on duty since leaving Cybertron.  The six lumes their patrol was supposed to last had been a lot to ask of any bot, but aboard the Sigma they had stolen moments of affection behind the backs of their teammates.  Unfortunately, on Earth there was no such luxury.  Humans were small and often moved too quietly for Cybertronian audials.  There was no moment when they couldn’t be interrupted.  Heatwave had become accustomed, and he assumed, so had Chase.

Chase shifted and Heatwave groaned, static crawling along his frame.  Chase pressed his faceplates underneath Heatwave’s chin, breath stroking over his cables.  Titling his head to the side to give Chase more room, Heatwave’s eyes caught on a human.  A distressed sound escaped him, eliciting a comforting murmur of Basic from Chase.  Heatwave’s spark spun crazily in his chest in an entirely unpleasant manner. 

The human was broad shouldered and narrow waisted, and it took Heatwave entirely too long to recognize Kade in his black class As and white button down.  The redhead’s eyes were wide and he stood too still, obviously shocked to find the two transformers in an intimate embrace.  Heatwave watched with trepidation as Kade’s eyes roamed over the chasse between his knees.  The fireman tilted his head curiously, following Chase’s hand as it trailed up Heatwave’s side, energy curling around his fingers and licking in and out of seams.  Heatwave jerked as that sensuously wandering hand passed over a particularly sensitive, thin spot in his plating.  Kade’s face slowly filled with realization and Heatwave could read a drawn out ‘oh’ on his lips.

Kade didn’t move, didn’t speak, he simply stood very still and watched every little thing Chase did.

Heatwave tried to push to police bot away, but only succeeded in shifting him onto his knees.  Chase seized the opportunity to press their helms together.  Heatwave’s optics fell shut of their own accord.  He traced the seams in Chase’s armor, feeling the first trickle of energy against his digits.  If he could do nothing but this one thing for the rest of his life it would be alright.  Chase pulled away, looking hungrily over Heatwave’s chasse.  Single mindedly, he reached out, plucking at the waterproof seams of Heatwave’s plating.  Heatwave arched into the touch, but turned his optics back to Kade, unable to dispel his worry.

Kade’s fingers hovered over his own parted lips.

Heatwave opened his mouth, though he had no idea what he intended to say.

Kade pressed his own firmly closed.  Then silently sat where he stood.

Heatwave drew breath to protest such blatant voyeurism.

::Let him watch:: Chase muttered, Basic foreign and tantalizing on his vocalizer.  Heatwave groaned, running his hands over Chase’s back, drawing charge.  He pushed away from the wall, suddenly desperate to be closer to his… lover.  There wasn’t a Cybertronian word for a relationship that straddled Amica, Conjunx, and a formal power dynamic.  Though, at this point, Heatwave had very few delusions that Chase did anything but _elect_ to follow his orders.

Case in point.

Chase knelt up, pulling their frames together, pressing as close as he could get.  Heatwave pressed back, charge jumping between their frames at even the slightest shift, every breath setting off a wave of crackles.  Heatwave laced their digits together, aligning their palms.  Chase pressed their helms more insistently together, raggedly swallowing Heatwave’s jagged breaths.

Chase picked at Heatwave’s fingers.  Heatwave held back, pushing the rollicking charge higher.  Their hands clapped together, tripping the circuit and kicking the cracking energy into the air.

Overload.

But not just any overload.  The energy snapped back to their shocking frames, jolting a sharp gasp from Heatwave and pulling an obscene whine from Chase.  Their heads were thrown back in ecstasy and they slapped their palms together again.  Again, the overload returned, spiraling them higher yet.  Heatwave opened his optics to pure energy.  He twined his fingers with Chase’s, pulling their arms over their heads.  He pressed their arms and bodies and helms closer together, dizzy with charge, panting with something too sweet to be desperation.

One last strong clap broke the recircuit, overload jumping to ground.

“Ahh!”

It was Kade’s voice that interrupted the aftershocks, but he sounded almost in pain.  Both bots turned, uncoordinated and Heatwave fell onto his hands.  The sight that greeted them was unimaginable.

Kade was on his knees, his back arched sharply.  Static sparking from the ends of his hair and roving over his body. 

It was their energy, their overload, trying to ground through Kade.  Humans were apparently both conductors and reservoirs.  Kade reached out blindly, jerking and unable to breathe.  A hand already on the floor, Heatwave reached out with one digit, giving the power a vector to ground.  Kade convulsed with a short scream.  He fell forward into Heatwave’s hand, limp but twitching.

Heatwave and Chase looked from each other to the human.  Was he alright?

Kade rolled, flopping onto his back.  “Oh, man,” he groaned.  “We have got to do that again.”  He stretched.  “That’s amazing.”  The man looked languidly up at them from Heatwave’s hand.

The bots stared back.

Kade grinned.  Heatwave snorted, then laughed.  Only Kade could have such a reaction to being effectively electrocuted.  Heatwave glanced at Chase, who was smiling indulgently down on the human.  Heatwave smiled at the redhead as well.

“Feel better?” Kade rasped, slowly testing out his limbs.

Heatwave smirked.  “Yeah.”  His own voice was staticky and he had to wonder…

“Did you experience a… human overload?” Chase asked curiously, his voice not at all clear.

Kade laughed unselfconsciously.  “The word you want is orgasm.”  He licked his lips.  “And yeah.”

Heatwave looked unsurely between the two.  What a weird time for a weird conversation.

“No idea I was into zapping.  That’s new.”  Kade’s gray eyes were bright with welcome discovery.  “Also, robot sex is hot, in case you were wondering.”

Heatwave _wasn’t_ , but that did bring up an important question.  “Are you going to tell your family?”

Kade raised an eyebrow, the intent of the look unmistakable even though his face was upside down to them.  “No.  Why would I?”

Heatwave pushed away the memory of a documentary Blades had stumbled upon almost immediately after being introduced to television.  It was about the stigma and mistreatment of same sex couples in this and many countries.  Coupled with Optimus’ warnings about the human tendency to make assumptions and react dangerously to them… So many of the people ranting at the camera sounded like Kade that Heatwave had assumed that the fireman was the worst possible person to discover them.

For his part, Kade looked genuinely confused.  “I mean, I _can_.  If you want me to.  But this is your relationship.”  He waved his hand laconically up at them.  “It’s not like anyone is going to care.”

“I was under the impression that same gender relationships were a matter of intense and sometimes violent debate.”  Chase had never been one to shy away from taboos.

Kade shrugged.  “Not in Griffin Rock, and definitely not in my family.”  He sat up.  

The whites of Kade’s eyes seemed Energon-bright.  Belatedly, Heatwave realized it was because his face was flushed.  It always amused Heatwave that the redhead’s freckles only stood out when his skin tone changed.  He briefly considered brushing his digit along Kade’s body to see if he could make them stand out even more.  That would probably just make this entire situation even weirder.  Heatwave snorted quietly at himself, the gust of air nearly unbalancing Kade as the human attempted to stand.

Heatwave and Chase also shifted, sitting properly on the floor.

“Hey, c’mere.”  Kade reached up a hand at each of them.  “I feel weird.”  Heatwave lifted him up to eye level.  Kade laid his hand on Heatwave’s cheek, leaning in to kiss him where a human’s bottom lip would be.  Heatwave blinked, completely bemused, and Kade turned to Chase.  The police bot brought himself within range and Kade repeated the affection.  Heatwave noticed that the man’s pupils were still quite wide.  Huh.

“What about Wendy?” Chase asked.  “Kissing is like touching helms, is it not?  A romantic gesture, in this context.”

“Oh, yeah.”  Kade grinned mischievously up at them.  “She’s gonna be wicked jealous.”

“You seem… okay with that?”  Heatwave was confused by the difference between the presumed reaction of Kade’s family and his girlfriend.

“Well, she trusts me.  I have to tell her.”  He waved his hand indicating that Heatwave’s relationship with Chase was still not a concern.

“She will not take this as a breach of monogamous trust?” Chase inquired, leaning closer.

“Maybe, but not telling her would be the real problem.”  Kade kissed Chase’s cheek when the bot swayed into range.  “Pretty sure she’s just going to want details.  And an invite.”

The look on Kade’s face said he was not presuming a repeat encounter, but Heatwave suddenly wanted that.  Very, very badly.  He glanced briefly at Chase, knowing the other bot’s curiosity about humans more than guaranteed his interest.  “I think that could be arranged.”

Kade _beamed_ and Heatwave’s spark settled into a place it hadn’t been in a very long time.


End file.
